Box with preformed nail receiving apertures

ABSTRACT

A toy game apparatus and playing pieces including an opaque box with an open bottom and with the top thereof providing a playing surface having pre-cut nail-receiving perforations. The game progresses with ballons being placed within the confines of the opaque box and each child in turn, attempting to drive one or more nails through the playing surface without bursting a balloon. The pre-cut perforations are shaped and formed in a construction making the playing surface and the perforations indefinitely reusable. A spinner is provided with the game, the spinner surface having indicia thereon to indicate, after spinning the spinner dial, the number of nails the child playing with the toy game must attempt to drive through the playing surface during his turn without bursting a balloon.

United States Patent 1 Cooper et al.

[54] BOX WITH PREFORMED NAIL- RECEIVING APERTURES [75] Inventors: Julius Cooper, New Hyde Park; Walter Moe, Plainview, both of NY.

[73] Assignee: Ideal Toy Corporation, Hollis, NY.

[22] Filed: Aug. 18,1971

[211 App]. No.: 172,764

Related U.S. Application Data [62] Division of Ser. No. 878,134, Nov. 19, I969, Pat. No.

[ Jan. 30, 1973 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 668,398 8/1963 Canada ..273/] I9 A Primary ExaminerAnton O. Oechsle AttorneyAmster & Rothstein [57] ABSTRACT A toy game apparatus and playing pieces including an opaque box with an open bottom and with the top thereof providing a playing surface having pre-cut nail-receiving perforations. The game progresses with ballons being placed within the confines of the opaque box and each child in turn, attempting to drive one or more nails through the playing surface without bursting a balloon. The pre-cut perforations are shaped and formed in a construction making the playing surface and the perforations indefinitely reusable. A spinner is provided with the game, the spinner surface having indicia thereon to indicate, after spinning the spinner dial, the number of nails the child playing with the toy game must attempt to drive through the playing surface during his turn without bursting a balloon.

3 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures BOX WITH PREFORMED NAIL-RECEIVING APERTURES This is a division of application Ser. No. 878,134, filed Nov. 19, 1969 and now US. Pat. No. 3,608,903.

It is desirable in todays education process for young persons that they be confronted with toys and toy games that stimulate their minds, offer them a challenge, educate them in manual dexterity, and offer them some competition involving the use of their minds against the minds of others. It is also important that the toys and toy games involve sounds that hold the attention of the children playing with such toys and toy games.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved toy game for holding the attention of the child playing therewith.

A further object is to provide toy game apparatus and playing pieces which challenge the childs manual dexterity as well as his mind.

A still further object is to provide a toy game and playing pieces therefor which effectively meet the commercial requirements of the toy industry.

A toy game apparatus and playing pieces therefor, demonstrating objects and advantages of the present invention, feature an opaque box with an open bottom and with the top thereof providing a playing surface having pre-cut nail-receiving perforations. The game progresses with balloons being placed within the confines of the opaque box and each child, in turn, attempting to drive one or more nails into the playing surface without bursting a balloon. The pre-cut perforations are shaped and formed in a construction making the playing surface and the perforations indefinitely reusable. A spinner is provided with the game, the spinner surface having indicia thereon to indicate, after spinning the spinner dial, the number of nails the child must attempt to drive through the playing surface during his turn without bursting a balloon.

The above brief description as well as further objects, features and advantages of the present invention, will be more fully appreciated by reference to the following detailed description of a presently preferred, but nonetheless illustrative embodiment in accordance with the present invention, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the playing pieces associated with a toy game according to the present invention, showing particularly the playing surface and the use of playing pieces in relation thereto;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged, cut-away, perspective view ofa part of the playing surface, illustrating the construction ofthe pre-cut nail-receiving perforations therein;

FIG. 3 is a side sectional view of the opaque box of HO. 1, taken along the line 3-3, further illustrating use of the playing pieces in relation to the playing surface; and

FIG. 4 is a top sectional view of the opaque box of FIG. 3, the section being taken along the line 4-4 thereof.

Reference is now made to the drawings, wherein there is shown apparatus and playing pieces useful in a toy game according to the present invention. FIG. 1 illustrates the playing pieces and apparatus including an opaque box, generally designated by the reference numeral 10, which includes a top wall playing surface 12 having -pre-cut nail-receiving perforations l4 therethrough. The opaque box 10 is constructed with depending side walls 18, and depending front and rear walls 20, the side, front and rear walls defining a bottom opening for said opaque box 10. A detailed view of the pre-cut nail-receiving perforations 14 is shown in FIG. 2 as including a Y-shaped perforation in the playing surface 12, the surface being formed with fold lines 16 to facilitate reusability of the perforations 14 by connection of the extremities of the Y-shaped pre-cut perforations 14. The fold lines 16 are constructed with slight indentations along the line thereof and are pre folded during manufacture in a material capable of retaining a memory for the fold. Construction of the pre-cut nail perforations is also such as to enable the offering of some resistance to driving of the nails therethrough.

The playing pieces also include balloons 22, adapted to be filled with air to become inflated balloons 22 for disposition within the confining surface 12 and walls 18 and 20 of the opaque box 10. Nails 24 and a hammer 26 are also provided, the nails 24 being adapted to penetrate nail-receiving perforations 14 when driven with hammer 26 by a child. A spinner 28 is also provided with numerical indicia 30 on the surface thereof for selection by use of the spinner dial 32 rotatably attached to the spinner 28.

Reference is now made to the drawings to illustrate the mode of operation of the playing pieces. Assuming four players, by way of example only, one player is chosen to proceed first with play passing to the left. The opaque box 10, the hammer 26, the nails 24 and the spinner 28 are placed within easy reach of all players. A number of balloons 22, which is one less than the number of players (four players use three balloons) are inflated and the inflated balloons 22' placed within the confining surface 12 and walls 18 and 20 of the opaque box 10. Such placement is facilitated by hand-receiving cut-out openings 36 at the lower end of walls 18, 20. The player chosen to proceed first spins the dial 32 and the number 30 pointed to by the dial after its spin (the number 2 as an example) is used to indicate the number of nails 24 which must be driven by the player using the hammer 26 through a perforation 14 of the playing surface 12. For instance, the first nail 24a is forced through a perforation 14a in the playing surface 12, as indicated by FIGS. 3 and 4, particularly. It may be seen that nail 24a has successfully missed penetration of one of the inflated balloons 22. A second nail 24b is then driven by the same player using hammer 26 through another perforation 14b in the playing surface 12 to complete the player's turn. it may be seen from FIGS. 3 and 4 that the nail 24b has penetrated one of the balloons 22', which, according to the rules of the game, eliminates that player from competition. The other players, in turn, use the spinner dial 32 to choose the number of nails they must attempt to successfully drive through perforations 14 in the playing surface 12 without breaking the balloons. The last player remaining in the game is declared the winner.

paratus and playing pieces (except the balloons) is any rigid or semi-rigid material such as plastic or cardboard. The game is described as including an opaque game box having a top wall defining a playing field and depending walls cooperating with said top wall and defining an internal chamber therewith. At least one inflated balloon is disposed within the chamber in proximity to and beneath the playing field but hidden from view, the playing field having plural nail-receiving perforations through which the balloon may be burst by driving a nail through selected ones of said nail-receiving perforations. Whether or not a particular nail through a particular perforation bursts a balloon depends upon the orientation of the balloon in relation to the playing field and the degree of inflation of the balloon. The perforations include a central hole and plural cuts radiating therefrom with prefolded indentations connecting the extremities of the cuts.

What is claimed is:

I. An opaque box for use with a balloon and a nail in a toy game comprising a top wall, depending walls cooperating with and defining therewith an internal chamber for confining said balloon, one of said walls defining a playing surface, and means defining Y- shaped perforations in said playing surface adapted to receive said nail, said playing surface being constructed with prefolded indentations along lines connecting the successive extremities of said Y-shaped perforations and adapted to provide said playing surface with resistance to said nail being driven through said perforations and yet reusability thereof.

2. The invention according to claim 1 wherein said opaque box is formed of a rigid cardboard material.

3. The invention according to claim 1 wherein a hand-receiving cut-out is provided at the lower end of one of said depending walls and is adapted to facilitate lifting of said opaque box.

* i l 18 k 

1. An opaque box for use with a balloon and a nail in a toy game comprising a top wall, depending walls cooperating with and defining therewith an internal chamber for confining said balloon, one of said walls defining a playing surface, and means defining Y-shaped perforations in said playing surface adapted to receive said nail, said playing surface being constructed with prefolded indentations along lines connecting the successive extremities of said Y-shaped perforations and adapted to provide said playing surface with resistance to said nail being driven through said perforations and yet reusability thereof.
 1. An opaque box for use with a balloon and a nail in a toy game comprising a top wall, depending walls cooperating with and defining therewith an internal chamber for confining said balloon, one of said walls defining a playing surface, and means defining Y-shaped perforations in said playing surface adapted to receive said nail, said playing surface being constructed with prefolded indentations along lines connecting the successive extremities of said Y-shaped perforations and adapted to provide said playing surface with resistance to said nail being driven through said perforations and yet reusability thereof.
 2. The invention according to claim 1 wherein said opaque box is formed of a rigid cardboard material. 